Plague outbreak kills 40 people in Madagascar
Source: AP-Excite
By LYNSEY CHUTEL
JOHANNESBURG (AP) A plague outbreak has killed 40 people on the island nation of Madagascar, with 119 people diagnosed with the bacterial disease since August.
Two people have been diagnosed and one has died in the capital, Antananarivo. The World Health Organization fears the plague outbreak may spread rapidly through Madagascar's largest and densely populated city, worsened by the country's poor health care system.
WHO said a national task force has been set up to manage the outbreak, with the cost of the project reaching $200,000. The international health organization said it is working with the Red Cross and Madagascan health authorities to control the disease.
The plague is a disease carried by rodents and spread by fleas. Humans are most often infected when they are bitten by fleas, causing swelling of the lymph nodes and sometimes pneumonia.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141122/af--madagascar-plague-0493087bef.html
hlthe2b
(101,728 posts)Sadly, this is not unusual for the locale, nor unexpected.
We too have wildlife foci of plague in the west (ground squirrels and prairie dogs) so that plague occurs sporadically here as well--usually in the unsuspecting camper or cat-owner who has been in contact with infected prairie dogs or their fleas.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)"Oh, and by the way watch for buboes"
"Huh?"
"Just check yourself once you get back from camping. Bubonic plague sometimes has outbreaks there..."
*urp*...
cosmicone
(11,014 posts)cosmicone
(11,014 posts)Call McCain, Ayotte and Graham and get them on the Sunday talk shows...